Richard S. Van Wagoner

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Richard S. Van Wagoner (July 23, 1946 – October 10, 2010) was an American historian, audiologist, and author who published works on the history of Utah and the history of the Latter Day Saint movement.

Richard Van Wagoner
BornJuly 23, 1946
DiedOctober 10, 2010 (aged 64)
Lehi, Utah, U.S.
Academic background
EducationBrigham Young University (MS)
Academic work
DisciplineAudiology
History
Sub-disciplineHistory of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Early life and education

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Van Wagoner was a Lehi, Utah, native and a fifth-generation Mormon.[1] He was an Eagle Scout and was a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the church's Central States Mission. In 1970, he graduated from Brigham Young University with an M.S. degree.

Career

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Trained as a clinical audiologist, he began professional practice in 1977 in Salt Lake City, Utah.[1]

Van Wagoner wrote the books Sidney Rigdon: A Portrait of Religious Excess and Mormon Polygamy: A History.[1][2] His 1994 biography of Sidney Rigdon won awards from the Mormon History Association and the John Whitmer Historical Association.[1][2]

Van Wagoner was a member of the board of Signature Books, and was described after his death as a "trailblazer in Mormon studies", having published historical articles in Utah Historical Quarterly, Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought, and Sunstone.[1] He lived in Lehi, Utah, and acted as the town's historical archivist.[1][2]

Personal life

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From the early 1980s, Van Wagoner lost his hearing due to otosclerosis;[2] he received a cochlear implant in 2001, which partially restored his hearing.[2]

Van Wagoner died unexpectedly at his home in Lehi, Utah, at age 64.[1][2]

Works

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Books

  • Van Wagoner, Richard S.; Steven C. Walker (1982), A Book of Mormons, Midvale, Utah: Signature Books, ISBN 978-0-941214-06-3
  • —— (1989) [1986], Mormon Polygamy: A History (2nd ed.), Salt Lake City, Utah: Signature Books, ISBN 978-0-941214-79-7, LCCN 85063399, OCLC 19515803, archived from the original on 2014-10-30
  • —— (1990), Lehi: Portraits of a Utah Town, Lehi, Utah: Lehi City Corp., ISBN 978-1-56085-001-4
  • —— (1994), Sidney Rigdon: A Portrait of Religious Excess, Salt Lake City, Utah: Signature Books, ISBN 978-1-56085-197-4
  • —— (2001), Pioneering Lehi City: A 150-Year Pictorial History, Lehi, Utah: Lehi City Corp., ISBN 978-0-9714191-0-0
  • Young, Brigham (2009), Richard Van Wagoner (ed.), The Complete Discourses of Brigham Young, vol. 5, Smith-Pettit Foundation, ISBN 978-1-56085-206-3

Articles

Sunstone Symposium presentations

Notes

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